Vinod Kambli, speaking on Wisden’s The Greatest Rivalry podcast, recalled the time a fan of his from Karachi sent him letters via Rashid Latif.
Reminiscing over fond memories from previous matches against Pakistan, Kambli, who made his ODI debut against Pakistan in 1991, highlighted the camaraderie the two teams shared during the 1990s.
Kambli also touched upon the hospitality the Indian team received on their tours to Pakistan before revealing how former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif got him letters from a fan in Karachi.
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“Playing against Pakistan,” he said, “on the field, we had the rivalry, but off the field, they are all my friends, Waqar [Younis], Wasim [Akram], and the rest of them, we had that kind of friendship which we still cherish. When we used to play, we gave our hearts out, we used to give our best.
“But off the field, you can ask Waqar, I used to mix around with him, used to be with him. Wasim bhai, all of them were friends. We maintained that friendship since my debut. I still remember we played their Independence Cup, after we finished playing ours, we went there and that was my first time in Pakistan.
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“We were treated very well when we went to Pakistan. In fact, I have a fan, who was following my career since I made my debut in ’91. He was from Karachi. And he used to send me letters [because] that time when there were no mobiles, no phone calls so he used to express himself through letters.
“And you won’t believe who used to bring those letters for me – Rashid Latif. He (the fan) used to go to Rashid Latif and gave all his letters to him and Rashid, whenever they used to come here, then I got it. So the fan following in Pakistan also, it’s still there. When I was playing and after I retired also, the fan following was there.”
